We've Moved

Ecology of Absence now resides at www.preservationresearch.com. Please change your links and feeds.

Monday, April 19, 2010

14th Street Mall: Almost History

Here's the current view from St. Louis Avenue looking south down the two commercial blocks of 14th Street that once composed the "14th Street Mall." Sidewalks nearly done: check. Street under construction: check. Reopening of 14th Street by the fall: check and double check.

7 comments:

STLgasm said...

Woo hoo!!!

The transformation of Crown Square should be a national example of urban renewal done RIGHT! Why can't THIS be our model for city development as opposed to massive contrived theme park schemes that usually do more harm to the urban fabric than good?

Matt M. said...

It's hard to believe we'll someday say to our children and other younger observers, "I remember 14th Street back when it was a pedestrian mall and nearly completely vacant..."

mattH said...

Hopefully last night's incident doesn't put a stop to the success of this development. It easily could, especially to those already critical of and negative about our city.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/3C179A482BB84AB58625770A005083DA?OpenDocument

Anonymous said...

I fail to see how a Walgreen's or a Taco Bell is going to fit into this scenario. Where will the long shuttered businesses go?

Anonymous said...

People are already scarred to come to ONSL this will make it worse 2 killings in 2 weeks something needs to be done it is getting very bad around 14th street I see it every night. Hadley st and 14th st are two of the worst areas in ONSL. Crown square is not doing a very good job of screening tennants.

adguy said...

I was witness to the blight of the then-new mall idea in downtown St. Charles in the 1970s and 1980s. Having grown up in old St. Charles, it was a shame to see the "North Main" downtown transformed into a shoddy pedestrian mall. While it killed off most of the old merchants, it didn't last too long, and I believe was ripped out by the early 1990s. New business and street life has entered the picture -- restoring a vibrance to the area that balances nicely the older, more sedate South Main.

Anonymous said...

It just looks great, the best vista in St. Louis.